Konami refutes Maradona's PES accusations

In an unlikely public war of words, Konami and Argentine football legend Diego Maradona have come to blows.

The football legend last week took to Facebook to accuse Konami of ripping off his likeness in PES 2017. The player appears as part of the game's classic player roster, with his likeness and skills reflecting him from back in his Hand of God glory days. He's available for players of PES's MyClub online mode.

I heard yesterday that the Japanese company Konami uses my image for its game PES 2017,” Maradona wrote. Unfortunately, my lawyer Matias Morla will initiate the corresponding legal actions. I hope this is not another scam...”

Morla himself added via Twitter, as translated by Google: [PES 2017] used in an illegal way the figure and name of Maradona… we will take action against Konami with everything.”

Now Konami has finally responded to the accusations, telling Kotaku: At this time, there have been news that in Winning Eleven 2017 (international title: PES 2017 Pro Evolution Soccer) there is one player that is being used without permission; however, our company is using [this player] appropriately, with the basis of the license within the contract.”

Classic players have been a feature of PES for many years and typically featured as an optional extra in the Master League mode.

While currently players are normally licensed on a per club or even sometimes per league basis, it's not clear how Konami licenses its classic players. Plenty feature, however, with Maradona starring alongside Ronaldinho, Fat Ronaldo, Ronald Koeman, Thierry Henry and even our very own Gary Lineker.